


Origin of the Team Killer

by Secret_Universe



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, Minor Character Death, Names, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2015-01-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 17:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1991742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secret_Universe/pseuds/Secret_Universe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Red Scout has been having nightmares, of killing his own team. Will they find out the reason behind this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nightmares

Nightmares… that were what had been bothering our favorite Red Scout for the last few nights now.

He’d toss and turn as the repeating images swam around, never leaving his mind no matter how much he wished they would. His teammates. The torment they’d gone through in his unsettling dreams.

Demoman would be blind, literally with both eyes having been pulled out of his sockets, leaving blood to dry up in their places. Soldier trying to scream but couldn’t with his mouth full of blood and broken teeth, not to mention his tongue almost split in half. Sniper’s arms were sliced off, the Aussie withering in pain before passing out completely. Spy… his face was in twisted emotions, face seemingly flushing and he was slightly crying, as if begging an unknown being to stop their actions, which never came to be. Engineer and Pyro… well they weren’t exactly being tormented but mainly helping out the person responsible for doing this to their own team members, along with a certain person…

And that was what scared Scout the most when that person was revealed in his nightmares.

Himself.

But he looked…different. His eyes a shade of green, his hair long enough to be a ponytail and he spoke in a tongue he wasn’t even aware he’d know… some sort of Spanish. There he was, just smacking his team mates, taking any sharp object available, and…

His eyes snapped open, staring into complete darkness. His pillow was wet, from both sweat and tears. He didn’t let these nightmares bother him at first but lately, they had been really getting to him. His hand placed itself on his face, shuddering at the images still swimming in his mind. “Why…?” He tried to shake his head to rid of the thoughts but it only made his head feel worse, the ringing hardly settling. “Why…!” He went silent, relived he could hear snoring from a few of the members of the Red team, proved they were still alive and well. Scout wished he could feel the same, but…

He walked slowly to his own private bathroom, turning on the cold water in the sink and splashing his face to try and wake himself up more. This was a little weird, way too weird. He had only started working here for a replacement unknown only to him and he had been doing great. Best job of a lifetime! That is, until those nightmares had started up after a few days being here. It had been like this for a few weeks now. He stared at himself in the mirror; no green eyes, no long hair. Hell, he didn’t even know how to speak in Spanish. But he did have a bloodshot gaze with a few bags underneath. God, he didn’t look so good.

Furthermore, how could he think of doing that to his own team? He enjoyed their company, their parts to help out the team against the Blu… a few of them were even like brothers or a father he never really had growing up as a kid. And the Red Spy… Scout had a slight friendship with him when he started working here, the Frenchman even bothering to help out the boy when he wanted a date with Miss Pauling at one point. But ever since the nightmares began… he couldn’t even let alone talk to Spy, afraid of the images coming up again.

Would almost be breakfast time, yet the thought of eating made him a little sick to the stomach.

~

“And I say he’s knows a little more about fighting then you do, pal, because he invented it!”

Soldier was giving that speech again, strolling back and forth in front of his crew. Scout was there too, having shown up a little bit late. He glanced silently at each team mate, each one still in their own normal state. He paused a bit at Spy, who had started giving a ‘good morning’ look but the Boston had already turned away to avoid looking again. However, his hearing seemed to fade in and out on the American still giving out his speech. The voice fading in and out…

“…and then he would beat the crap out of every single one…”

Scout tried giving his head a shake again, his hand resting against it. God it felt like he had a migraine, throbbing a bit giving his a slight headache. Of course, he had missed breakfast this morning. Felt a few stares from the others, but he couldn’t let that bother him as well. His head lowered a bit until he raised it again… to be met with a large American face.

“…it’s called a zoo!”

“Augh!”

Scout nearly jumped at Soldier being that close. The American must’ve noticed the Boston barely paying attention. He squinted in suspicion, “Unless it’s what, maggot?”

Something about animals… beating crap out of them… “PETA?”

Soldier stared blankly. A few snickers were hear but quickly silenced when the Soldier glared at them. He stared back at a nervous looking Scout before simply shrugging it off, “Guess I can’t argue with that one…”

Scout sighed with relief, that out of the way. The announcer gave out the signal to begin the fight for the day and the others ran out of the entrance. The Bunny in Red started to follow but tripped falling to his knees. His vision was blurring and he couldn’t stand. He could only watch the rest of his team run off to their positions, everything all fuzzy and hard to hear.

“Give …em hell, bo…“

Everything blacked out.

He wasn’t exactly sure how long he had been passed out, though it literally felt like a few seconds. He blinked, his vision still blurring in a few places as he tried to regain where he was. Still at the entrance but he didn’t really recall falling on his back; maybe someone had flipped him over? He glanced wearily to his right and did a double take.

The Sniper.

Unlike most of the team at times, the Aussie always made sure his team made it out of the entrance to begin the battle for the day, and having seen the Scout collapse, stayed with the boy until he became conscious again.

“You took quite a spill mate,” said Sniper, reaching out a hand. Scout shakily took it, merely allowing the older man to help him sit up. The boy had a hand to his forehead again, still feeling the throbbing in his head. Sniper haven’t seen him at breakfast this morning, in other words, Scout missed the meal. The younger man noticed the other offering him one of those types of things you kept water in while traveling in the desert. He slowly took it, a small nod of thanks and took a drink, the cool feeling in his throat felt a bit refreshing. He handed it back to Sniper, who nodded. Something came from the Administrator about the Blus’ bomb, and Scout had already jumped to his feet… only to fall flat on his face.

Sniper raised an eyebrow, “Not a smart move after passing out, mate.” He heard the boy mumble something like ‘no shit, Sherlock’ and grinned, “Alright come here.”

~

Red Soldier had launched himself onto the ledge of his base, starting to run by Sniper in his position.

“Hi.”

“G’day.”

Soldier then stopped short, feeling something out of place. The Sniper was in his usual place to get headshots… he just normally didn’t have anyone on his back while he was doing so. He turned back, scowling and pointing.

“What do you think you’re doing, private? Get down from there!”

Scout winced; clinging to the Aussie’s back embarrassed. He figured the Soldier wouldn’t be happy about this sort of thing. Thankfully the Sniper took his side.

“Still no feeling, mate?”

“Don’t think so.”

Soldier tapped his boot impatiently, “Why isn’t the boy doing his job out there where he should be?”

Sniper frowned at the American, “The mongrel got off to a bad start. Just letting him rest till he can get back on his feet.”

“Hmph. Faking as always.”

Scout gave a scowl of his own, “The Soldier is a Spy,” which cause the Aussie to turn his rifle on the Soldier, who yelped.

“Hey!”

The boy shrugged, “My mistake.”

Soldier pointed, frowning, “Play with me all you want, boy. But we’ll see who has the last laugh.” He then rushed off. Scout rest his head against Sniper’s back, the older man back to taking headshots. He remained silent for a while…

“Snipe?”

Sniper had taken out a Blu Pyro before turning his attention to the boy, “You say something lad?”

“Um… someone else had the job before me?”

Now it was the Sniper’s turn to go quiet until he answered, “We don’t talk much about him.”

“Hmm…”

“Besides the Demoman, but that’s about it.”

Scout grew even quieter, feeling awkward. Feeling like he shouldn’t bring up the subject… “Let me down.”

“Ya sure?”

“Yeah, I think I got some feeling back.”

Sniper paused before kneeling slightly to allow the boy to slide off his back. Scout hesitantly touched the ground to gain his footing. He stumbled a bit but managed to walk again. He turned to the Sniper, “Maybe I should see if someone needs some back up out there.”

“Sure thing, mate.”

Scout was ready to walk off,

“Break a leg while you’re at it.”

The boy paused, almost growing white. The images were back, mostly of snapping off the Aussie’s own limbs to the point he might’ve fainted to death. Scout shivered, frozen in place. Even the taller man had noticed the boy still haven’t left.

“Scout? You okay?”

“Uh…sure, why not?” Scout wasn’t able to shake off the feeling this time. His head was already hurting again. Sniper had walked up behind him, starting to rest a hand on the boy’s back in a soothing pat.

“If you’re really sure about th-“

“NO DON’T!”

Scout jerked away, raising his hands like he’d strike his team mate, one leg off the ground almost in a karate pose. Taking note of what he did, the boy tried to relax but was still wary.

“Just… just don’t touch me right now, I…” He almost spilled the beans, but had to stop himself. The others wouldn’t understand, they’d just think he was crazy…

Sniper stood there, “Mate… you’ve been acting funny lately. Something’s up, isn’t it?”  
The bunny in Red shifted around on his feet, biting his lip trying to find an excuse. He then noticed the Red’s Pyro out on the battlefield, giving chase on the Blus’ Medic and Heavy Weapons Guy.

“Uh… gotta go!” He zoomed off, more quickly then he intended, leaving the Sniper to stare after him and shake his head.

“That boy don’t seem right.”


	2. Hallucination's

The Boston bunny had finally managed to catch up with his team’s Pyro, just barely able to catch any of the action the firebug had been enjoying, leaving a bleeding BLU doctor in the corner while the shaved bear in blue was unconscious nearby. Trying to keep up his usual cocky attitude, Scout gave out a grin, “Damn, you started without me?”

“*mumble*” The Pyro giggled underneath its gas mask, its hands clapping like a six year old. “…*mumble, mumble*?”

Scout gave an awkward twirl with his bat, swinging it over his shoulder, “No, no… just, a tumble at the start, that’s all.” 

The Medic from the other team scowled, “That was not medicine…”

The boy was turning to face him, “Nope, so-” He then paused, taking a second look. The Medic had a bleeding wound in his middle, almost like…the images flashed to the nightmares, which briefly showed his Medic in an exact position…asking the firebug if he wanted to play ‘doctor’…

‘Shit.’

“…There wasn’t any auto balance today, was there?”

“Mm?” Pyro seemed confused at the Scout’s sudden question.

“Ya know…a team member switches to the other team without anyone else knowing…?”

Out of the corner of his eye, the doctor noticed his partner in battle secretly y reaching for an AIDS kit and smirked, keeping up the scowling impression, “Dompkoffs.”  
Scout suddenly became hesitant almost backing up. What if this was his team’s doctor? Suppose there had been an auto balance and he had… He bit his lip trying hard not to think about it, especially when Mumbles in red gestured for him to finish off the Medic it had taken care of earlier. Thoughts battled each other in his hazy mind.

‘Clearly not our team’s doctor, just get the job done… but maybe it is… even if so, you hate doctors… that doesn’t mean I wanna kill my team’s doctor…’

His hand shook as he gripped his bat, stepping forward slowly with a blank look. The Medic braced…till the Heavy crawled in front, growling as the boy raised the weapon above his head to strike… he still hesitated.

‘Just kill him… but what if it’s… do it, kill him. You’ll thank me afterwards… I can’t just, that is… kill him, KILL HI-‘

“SHUT UP!” Scout clutched at his head, dropping the bat to the ground as the others jumped a bit from his sudden scream. “Shut up! Will you just shut up?!”

The others didn’t know how to react; none of them had even said anything and the boy here had just yelled out of the blue.

“…Swinehound, you are trying mein patience!” Medic didn’t want to get killed, sure, but this was not something he considered part of the battle. The bunny in return stared back, going wide eyed…

“Doc!” He gripped the other man by the shoulders, shaking him and starting to go into a panic attack, “Doc, tell me that’s you! Tell there’s been an auto balance!”

“*mumble*!”

“Was…?” First he was almost killed on the spot, and now this Red dared to ask if he was there doctor? Heavy smirked, taking grip of Scout’s hand and pulling him off the German in BLU, almost crushing the boy’s hand.

“Stupid. Is our doctor, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

However, Scout was far from calming down as the images stirred up again; the Medic becoming his team’s dead doctor and the Russian gulped up in smoky black fog… “Let go, let go!” He yanked away, stumbling and hit his back on the wall, colliding to the floor. He rubbed the back of his head where he hit the hardest till he stopped… wait a second…

Demoman going blind.

Soldier’s teeth and tongue all bleeding.

Sniper’s limbs torn clean off.

Spy begging for mercy of horrid actions.

Engineer and Pyro assisting him.

Medic dead and on top of a certain Announcer’s own corpse.

..The Heavy…how the hell did he forget about the Heavy, this whole time?!

The Russian by this time had just noticed his Medic had already fainted into death, “Medic!” Pyro jumped back as the shaved bear stood up angrily; mess with a Heavy’s doctor, you get the paws. “Leetle man need to learn lesson, never make me angry…” He grinned, expecting the Scout to just smirk back and grasp for his bat again. However, there was the Boston in Red just standing against the wall, still trying to back up despite not really getting anywhere. His chest was heaving in rising panic, muttering over and over “oh god…” How could he that stupid to not remember the Heavy in the nightmares? That was the only teammate that haven’t been present during his team’s torture and agony. Maybe he had killed him off…or just thought he did? What if it was the other team’s Heavy, coming to get him after finishing off the other team as well? He only faintly noticed the other Russian starting to get closer, slightly concerned and reaching out a meat arm. Scout started to hyperventilate, the image of a large black smoky hand floating forward… to damage him…

‘Run…’

To kill him off, like he had the others…

‘Get out of there, you dumbass! GO!’

Quickly, he dodged underneath the Heavy’s giant paw, rushing out of the exit and barely hearing the Pyro calling out to him. He just ran, blindly pushing through a few teammates without knowing if they were BLU or RED. A shot fired and Scout fell, taking note of a spark of fire. Scrambling upward, he could no longer even see the battlefield as the hallucinations took over him. Everything looked as if to be on fire, almost like when Pyro had went on a killing spree. Wood fell from above and Scout urged to run off again, the images beginning to drive him crazy. He stopped at an edge looking from right to left till on his left, he thought he saw a dark hole…calling for him to jump in. Accept his fate. Scout backed up, growing weary from the bright flames and unable to think clearly… His eyes closed, taking a breath for a last time and lunged forward into a dive.

If only poor Scout had been not bothered by the hallucinations, he would’ve realized what he had just done…

…or what he had just dived in front of.

*explosion*

Not too far off, Sniper was watching the scenario, having seen a figure leap out in front of the BLU’s bomb cart but didn’t clearly see whom it was or which team the being was from. “Hehehe… stupid scout.” He aimed his rifle towards the being that could be seen clearly now, all covered in red… a lot of red…no hints of blue…

“…Scout!” The Aussie cried upon seeing it was his teammate, lying still on the ground. Climbing down from his location and being careful to avoid, Sniper crawled over to Scout’s body rolling him over slowly. The boy had a deep wound digging into his lower gut area, bleeding heavily. The older man listened closely, hearing a heart beat but at a mere rapid pace, and sighed with relief.

“Christ, don’t scare people like that. You trying to give me a bloody heart attack, mate? …Mate?”

No answer.

“Scout, can you hear me?” Sniper held the boy by his shoulders, watching the bunny’s head fall forward limply. Sniper then noticed something out of place in shock.  
The boy’s heart had a beat…but he had shown no signs of breathing.

“Oh my god…”

~

As ceasefire began to fall in, Soldier, Engineer and Demoman set up a game of cards, the Red Dispenser nearby healing little marks they got from the battle today. The American looked between both other men till he scowled at the Scottish.  
Engineer wasn’t surprised, “That there’s a fine piece of work, Tavish.”

“Aye.”

Soldier’s hand gripped on his cards, “Cheater, the Cyclops is a cheater.”

“Settle down, partner.”

“Ha,” Demoman leaned forward with a laugh, “I’m drunk, you don’t have an excuse!” That’s when he randomly fell asleep; making both men roll their eyes and back to the game. ..

“Medic! Medic!”

Soldier and Engineer looked up hearing the Aussie voice, standing up with weapons in hand in case it was not one of their own team. Even Demoman snapped out of his sleepy haze to join the two. They stood at stance till they saw it was their team’s Sniper carrying a familiar limp body.

“Doctor!” Sniper called out again, holding Scout’s body till he noticed the others and started rushing to them, “Help! Need some help here!”

The others came forward to Sniper, who climbed the ladder with Scout over his shoulder till Engineer and Demoman took the boy’s body. “Got him!” The Scottish felt Scout’s face, which was dangerously growing cold and pale. 

“The lad’s not breathing!”

“Move!” ordered Soldier, taking over his swish army knife, cutting through the strap of the Boston’s bag which had been digging into the fresh wound and tearing it apart. This of course jolted Scout back to life, coughing for air. Soldier backed up, handing the bag to Sniper.

“…Never would’ve thought of that.”

“Clearly, one eye, you’ve never been to Singapore.”

Engineer was the next to come forward to check the Scout, till the boy grabbed his hand out of alarm. “It’s okay, boy. Everything’s okay now…” Scout was still heaving, staring at the others… like as if… as if he didn’t know them… “Boy, snap out of it. It’s okay.” Engineer helped the dazed younger man to sit up and Sniper held up two fingers.

“How many do you see, mate?”

Scout stared awhile, watching the fingers going back and forth…starting to bleed…becoming torn limbs… With another jolt and cry of panic, he scrambled backward into the wall. Engineer held him still to try and settle his nerves. “Son. Son, just calm down now…”

Scout stared left to right, confused and bewildered… “Wh… Where?”

“Where what?”

“W…where am I?”

This worried and concerned the other men till Demoman let out a snort. Engineer scowled, “It’s not funny!”

“What? It can’t be that easy to get a case of Amnesia.”

“It’s still not funny, Tavish.”

“Still, maybe it’s a little joke to get us, ain’t it boyo?” But then Demoman started to see for himself it was no joke. Scout hugged his legs, staring blankly with a few tears down his cheeks. The Scottish snapped his fingers in front of him once, then twice. The bunny didn’t respond other than a low wail sound as Engineer pulled him close to rub the boy’s back and he allowed it. The bells rang for the next battle to start and both Sniper and Demoman rushed off, quick glances of concern to Scout. Soldier was about to follow…

“You’ve plenty of dispensers and sentries out there.”

“What?” Soldier looked surprised at first but again frowned, “We’re all needed out on the battlefield, now let’s-“

“We can’t just leave the boy out here in this condition,” Engineer rubbed the Boston’s back some more as the younger man clung to him. The American didn’t want to back down easily.

“As said before, he’s faking, now are we gonna get going or what?”

Scout winced from Soldier’s yelling and Engineer could see the boy’s frightened look, taking a stern look towards the man in the helmet. “Look, ‘sir’, he’s clearly had some sort of scare that caused him into this. And you think it’s a wise idea to send him out in this sort of state? “

Soldier sneered… “Fine, fall for it all you want.” He ran off.

Scout looked up, nervously, “Who…who was…?”

“Just the Soldier. You’ll have to rest here till the battle is over.”

“Battle…?” This seemed to spark something in Scout’s memory but Engineer had to stop him from getting up.

“No, no, no. Just settle down… just lay back and rest.”

The boy whined a little but lay back as instructed and Engineer switched a switch from his machine. Scout eased a little from the fuzzy warm feeling around his waist, healing his wound. It was starting to make him feel sleepy. Engineer allowed the boy to rest his head in the Texan’s lap till his lids fell closed and into slumber.


	3. Suicide...?

Blackness was swimming around in his vision. He couldn’t be dead…? No the system wouldn’t always allow permanent deaths on the job. He tried opening his eyes, wincing at the bright light and still blurring a little here and there. The battlefield… it looked empty, other than a figure in goggles and yellow hard hat, waving at him slowly.

“Focus, boy… focus on me, boy…”

“…E-engi?”

The Texans crossed his arms, smiling in relief. “So you finally remember who I am again. Kind of gave us a little scare with that amnesia attack of yours.”

“Am…n…what…?” Scout shakily raised a hand to his face. Felt warm, wet… had he cried? And that familiar feeling of the Dispenser was around his waistline, which had healed his wound from earlier. The Engineer nodded.

“Most of us weren’t sure what gave you that scare earlier today but all we know is, you weren’t breathing on us and you couldn’t remember whom any of us were. Maybe a mention of the battle but that was about it. And normally amnesia doesn’t always heal itself like that.” He watched the Boston place a hand over his face with a low groan. Whether it was relief or a bit much to take in, Engineer added, “The battle’s over for today so we should get back inside and perhaps you should get some more rest.”

“Yeah…” Scout tried to stand again on his own but as before, his feet refused to cooperate so he found himself flat on his face, mumbling.

“…I’m going to assume that’s not the first time you’ve tried that today.” Engineer, rolling his eyes behind his goggles, scooted over to roll the boy on his back. Scout, during this, was receiving memories again… the hallucinations… diving in front of a bomb without knowing it… and he had worried the others cause of that…

“Engine…Engi, I didn’t…” The older man patted his shoulder.

“It’s not your fault, boy. Nothing’s your fault.” Engineer then lifted Scout up into his arms, surprisingly strong for something his height. “The others will be wondering about us if we don’t make it in time for supper.”

Scout gulped; as the memories returned, so did the nightmare memories… the visions… He even remembered killing off Engineer after he dealt secretly with Pyro…just for his Gunslinger…

The shorter man was a little surprised as the Boston wrapped his arms around his neck, almost hugging him but he smiled it off, walking towards the base. “Hold on there, boy. I ain’t gonna drop you.”

\--

The sounds of snoring team mates. And Scout was yet again lying there in his bed wide awake, staring at the ceiling. He didn't feel it a safe idea to fall sleep again since the events earlier today. He let out a groan, sitting up and rubbing his stomach. Once again, he had skipped out on another meal. Listening for any other sounds besides the sleeping men, Scout slipped out of bed and crept quietly out his room, closing the door as silently as he could still looking around for anyone to catch him out and up this late. He then tip toed towards the kitchen, nearly fumbling in the darkness to find the fridge. He squinted at the light coming forth from it and reached inside to claim his prize; one of the Heavy's sandwiches. Sure he may get in trouble for this, but damn, he can't remember the last time he had felt this hungry...

"Coo."

The boy nearly jumped upon seeing one of the Medic's doves, a certain one covered usually in blood. He scowled, "Would you- get outta here?" Shooing away the bird, Scout shuddered a bit, "You were enough trouble since the last time..." Then turning back, Scout hesitated... before biting into the sandwich almost viciously. He was just that hungry. Perhaps also this could hold him out throughout tomorrow.

\--

Big mistake.

As yet another battle rang out through the day with gunfire and violence of any sort, Scout huddled into a corner, feeling even worse then yesterday. He was holding his stomach, legs pressed against his chest and his head covered with sweat on his face. Must've been that damn sandwich from last night. He tried to stand up, holding a hand against the wall as he trembled, "Damn it... must've been something expired..." He then felt a small wave of nausea almost bending over. Panicked, Scout started to rush off before bumping into something unseen before he spewed.

"Mon Dieu!" cried the voice as the Blu Spy reappeared, Scout staining his suit with vomit. The boy stumbled backward, catching his breath. He merely watched the other Spy from the opposite team trying to shake off the stained mess.

"I..." Scout swallowed despite a sore throat, "...I'm sorry..."

Blu Frenchman slightly frowned, "...You got it on my suit."

Scout began scratching at his head, the voice speaking again;

'Blu Team...kill them off first... they're weak...they've always been weak...'

The other older man started turning away till the younger man grabbed him by the shoulder. Scout didn't answer, his eyes shadowed and he slowly reached for his bat, breathing going a bit unsteady.

"...Petit Lapin, have you-?" A full blow to the Frenchman's head caused him to fall over. Scout stood over him, a crazed look and continued bashing in his bat over and over, bruising the man's body. The protests and shouts of the other man only feel on deaf ears until Scout finally slowed down, panting heavily ad stained with blood from the Blu Spook's corpse. Slowly walking off, Scout stumbled against the wall, feeling a second wave of nausea but managed to keep it down this time.

"Get a hold of yourself...Just get a freaking...hold..." Scout lifted his head upon hearing the BLU's Soldier rushing in his direction. Anger once again took over the Bostian and, hardly aware, his hands threw themselves around the American's neck, knocking off his helmet. 

"Augh!"

Scout wasn't even aware of what was pouring out of his mouth other then words that didn't match the English language. He felt something tapping on his shoulder but he ignored it completely.

"Jamie? Jamie??"

"SO DON'T YOU EVER CROSS ME AGAIN!!!"

"HELP!"

Finally, both hands have pulled Scout out of it and he turned sharply to met face to face with his team's Scottish man.

"Will you settle down, laddie? The soldier's just doing his job!"

"...Huh?" Scout, finally snapping back into reality, noticed how hard he was gripping the other man's throat...almost as if to choke him... he pulled away, groaning and putting a hand to his face. Demoman took notice of this.

"Cripe, lad. You're still not feeling so good? Look a little queasy."

"No, no, it's just...uh..." Scout walked off from the two men, "I gotta lie down somewhere..."

Demoman, shaking his head in concern, turned back to his former friend who coughed to catch his breath. "Sorry about the boyo. You okay there, Brian?"

"Yeah, f-fine. What does it matter to you, maggot?"

"Oh good...good..." In a flash Blu Soldier was being choked again this time by the Scottish, "Because I want to settle this with you personally myself!"

"Ah!"

"You owe me a new bloody hat after that last battle! Do you know how much money it cost?? And for the last bloody time, it's a kilt!"

Scout could faintly hear those two fighting each other, yet again, and sighed walking off. This was just going to be another long painful day. He glanced to see more of his team mates... Soldier in red and...

...Spy...

No, not now! Quickly he dodged between the two men and raced off, keeping his head down. Could hear the shorter man yelling after him but he ignored it. He just wanted to keep away from Spy, whose gaze he could feel on his back. He kept running till he stopped around a corner, stopping to catch his breath.

...Why?

He couldn't avoid Spy forever, but he had to.

He just had to.

"Think happy thoughts...come on, happy thoughts..." Scout tried to view a certain woman he had liked since working here; Miss Pauling. Okay that was working, imagining her using that sweet gun, that time he saved her from those giant bread freaks, she even had thanked him and...

'Seduce me.'

"Shit!" Scout placed his face in his hands, trying to shake the images away. Stupid, stupid, stupid! It was Spy's fault first, not his! Spy just had to bring up pretending to be the woman. Yeah, so he started most of this whole mess! His hands turned into fists, so much anger...

Wham!

His fist had hit the side of the fort, as Scout paused and slowly retracted his hand, bleeding at the knuckles. He didn't speak, just stared... it was his blood, right? Just his blood...

"Aye, Jamie!" Demoman's voice called as he walked up to the boy, "Found ye. Just wondered where..." He paused too; the Scout just stood there, holding his hand with blood soaking into the bandages. "...bloody hell..."

Later, finding an Aid Kit, Demoman helped to clean up and heal the boy's wound. "Alright, what's going on, lad?"

"Nothing. At least...I don't think so..."

The Scottish finished adding fresh new bandages to the younger man's hand, "You normally make a fuss over a little wound like this. It just doesn't seem like you, boyo."

Scout slammed his hand to the ground, before silently speaking, "Look Cyclops... Just be honest with me..." He looked up, biting his lip, "You don't... think I'm going crazy, do you?"

Demoman gave a concerned look, "I wouldn't say that, laddie. But...you have been avoiding us lately...some more then others."

Scout only nodded in understanding. Most of the team mate he had avoided, yes... just not so much as he had avoided Spy.

\--

It was now a ceasefire, the Red team hung out in one of the large shacks. Scout leaned against a pile of large logs, a Bonk in one hand. He silently sighed, sipping slowly on his energy drink and dropped the empty can to the ground. No one was noticing, he figured this no surprise but... This was a ceasefire... This would give him a choice... Whether he'd respawn again or not, he felt he had to... He hesitantly reached for his gun.

"Don't you give me that look..." Soldier was bickering with the Pyro during this time. The firebug only snickered behind its mask until it noticed something...horrifying. "And don't you ignore me maggot, I was asking you...a..." finally the Soldier followed the Pyro's gaze...

There was Scout...holding the gun under his chin...ready to fire it off.

Sniper halted in his tracks, "The bloody hell, mate?!"

"Do not do it, private! Do not even think about doing it!"

Soon, the other team members were also starting to insist, beg even for the Scout to think about what he was doing.

"Fuck off! All of you!" He lashed, pointing the weapon at anyone who dared get near him. He was shaking, his eyes blinked frantically to keep the tears away.

"Leetle Scout, no!" Heavy cried, his huge hands waving.

"Don't make me shoot! Don't make me team kill!"

"Doktor!" Heavy then turned back, frowning, "Is going to be okay, we get help!"

"Scout, don't be an imbecile!" Spy called out.

Scout didn't care, not anymore. Those endless nightmares... The murders upon his teammates, which he... He... "Oh god..." The images were coming back; the Soldier's teeth broken, the loss of the Demoman's cursed eye, the fact he had Pyro and Engineer to help him out with such horrific things... Sawing off the arms of Sniper, and what he... What he had done worst of all to the Spy...

"N-no, just ... Just st*hic* stay away!"

"Son, think about what you're doing!" Engineer was at the front of the others, "Consider it at least!"

"G-guys, just... Oh god, run... Just don't..." He stared at the gun, worried. Was he dreaming this? "I didn't want to... I didn't mean anything of this!..."

"Oh merde..."

"You will stop... that is an order!"

But he didn't stop himself, from slowly and still shaking, placing the barrel underneath his chin. The screams of the others were fading, his vision blackened...

"Scout, no!"

"Don't do it!"

He pulled...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also be sure to check out a SFM comic of this chapter's ending http://crystalgem523.deviantart.com/art/SFM-Commission-Origin-of-the-Team-Killer-443129881 Not made by me.


	4. Help...

**More blackness... his head pounded... he tried to get up, despite shaking so much. He looked around, seeing darkness as far as the eye could see. Was he...? Did they...? Maybe this was what Hell was like...? Scout then thought he felt a presence and turned... a young woman figure stepped out from the shadows...**

**"...Pauling?"**

**"...Why did you do it?"**

**She knew...? "I..."**

**"No..." To the man's horror, blood pooled out of her mouth and eyes as she repeated, "Why did you do it??" With a loud cracking noise, her head came clean off. Scout yelped, jumping back as her limp body fell forward...onto another body; the Administrator's... That scene again... Scout could only stare, resting a hand to his face...**

**It felt wet... He took a second look at both of his hands... blood, completely soaked in blood. He couldn't have had... He had...**

**He stepped away, just to get away from the sight...and ended up falling backwards, into a deep pool of water... tasted bittersweet... Nope, that was not water. He quickly swam for the surface, coughing and spitting as he tried to get to whatever shore there was. Up ahead, it looked like the battleground... He was finally able to reach land, struggling to his feet and ran into the middle of the area, searching...**

**"Guys...??"**

**Echoes of voices could be heard... still, no sight of anyone...**

**"...Anyone?"**

**Another sound crept over the voices, at a louder volume... the crackling of fire? He stared up at the buildings, with that familiar glow of orange, yellow and red... was that a figure standing there? He couldn't see who it was clearly... its hands glowed a bright color of green... pieces of the buildings began falling with burning wood, Scout trying to move out of their way... He felt a burning in his middle and looked... his bag was catching fire. Quickly, he snatched it off and started running for cover... any sort of cover. He dared to look back; there was the figure again pointing forward as a huge wave a fire gave chase. Scout ran, ducking and dodging but wasn't able to outrun the fire. He didn't know how long he had run but he soon had reached the middle of the battlefield.**

**"It wasn't my fault...IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"**

**No reply... the fire was catching up, soon coming at him from all different angles.**

**"Help! Yo, a little help here!?!"**

**The fire rose. Scout ducked, covering his head. It surrounded him...**

This time, a blinding white light filled his gaze... was this...?

No... the respawn room...?

But he thought...

"Attention, Red Team... You may relax now, your teammate is fine... and if you're listening, Red Scout... We do not want to see anything like that again..."

The Administrator's voice... Scout blinked... it took him a moment to notice he was flat on his back... that meant the repsawn had come back on when he... his hand clutched onto something cold... hard... he still had the gun... he jerked up quickly, throwing it to one side and standing against the wall, trying to catch his breath... He heard voices in his earpiece. The others... oh shit.

Soon, the doors opened and the other came in; Engineer, Soldier, Pyro, Spy, Heavy and Sniper. Still no sign from Medic and Demoman... Scout couldn't bare to look at them in the eye, continuing to cover his face with his hands.

"Thank god, son. What were you thinking?"

...

"Private, are you crazy? Doing that during a ceasefire?"

...still no answer.

Spy sighed, slowly stepping forward, "De toute évidence encore sous le choc..." He placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder, "But mon dieu, if you ever do that agai-"

SLAP!

No one had even seen Scout move but Spy had jumped back the second the boy's hand came in contact with his, slapping it away and still covering his face with one hand. The Frenchman didn't know how to react... the boy had just hit him... His hand still had a tingling feeling where he was struck; he had to admit, that kind of hurt.

Scout was shaking badly, starting to scratch at his head, "It wasn't my fault..."

The others looked up at this. Soldier, feeling he was speaking for the team, spoke up. "You're saying this because...?"

"It wasn't my fault..." Scout blinked to keep away the tears, "Not my fault... it... it wasn't my..."

"Solly, you might want to..." Engineer was ignored by the American.

"Do you even realize what you almost did... what you have been doing?"

The boy shook his head, still not seeming to hear the other man, "I didn't want to! It wasn't me! I meant nothing! Let me go... let me go!"

"Private, you've been playing with us like this long enough!" Soldier's voice was starting to get louder.

Scout fell to his knees, "I regret everything! I regret everything I've ever done!"

"You had better! These games are put to an end now-"

Engineer had pushed Soldier back, glaring a 'shut up' glance and slowly stepping towards the boy, who shook nonstop. Sniper wiped a brow, "Bloody hell... as if diving in front of the bomb wasn't bad enough..."

The Texan man looked back, "He did what?"

"The other day, the mongrel had thrown himself in front of the BLU's bomb after some sort of scare. Pyro even mentioned that he had thought their Medic was ours for some reason." The Firebug nodded in agreement.

"Anything else...?"

"He did pass out at the entrance, but that was about it." The Aussie glanced to the younger man, "He must have something really awful for that to happen..."

Engineer nodded slowly before turning back, "Now boy... we just want to know what's wrong..."

Scout let out a groan, the rest of what the other man was saying going faint on him. He felt a small wave of the uneasy warmth... he breathed deeply to ease it, but wasn't cooperating...

"Boy... boy, are you listening? This is impor-"

Scout had lost that battle again. Engineer jumped backward as the younger man bolted forward, spewing out his stomach's contents, it forming a growing pool of vomit. Heavy was about to step forward, normally someone to comfort those who puked but upon second look, he thought he noticed something familiar; parts of a sandvich he had found missing.

...don't ask how he knew, he just did.

Scout let out a small wail before upchucking again, a small item hitting the floor. Engineer noticed what it was... with his gloved hand, he carefully took a hold of it and held it to his eye view... Scout also saw what it was, a small whimper of fright...

A silver bullet...

The others looked at one another, unsure how to respond... Scout was murmuring again, shaking... had he hallucinated? Without even knowing it? He had almost...

"Scout..." Spy knelt down again, resting the hand cautiously again on his shoulder... "Tell us, what-" This time he received a hard kick in his gut, falling backward.

"No...No, no, no, get away!" Scout jumped up, pushing past the others and darting out the doorway.

"Boy, wait!" Engineer only watched as the boy had run off. Soldier made the first attempt to go after Scout... only to slip in the puddle of vomit and getting a few laughs out of the others.

"Damn it, boys!"

\--

Scout raced down the hallway, stopping short just to catch his breath. In frustration, he tore off his earpiece throwing it away before leaning against the wall... Breathing soon turned into soft sobs. Sinking into sitting position, he covered his face, tears having won the fight and hit the floor in tiny puddles.

Footsteps were coming close, but Scout heard nothing. It was Heavy, coming around the corner. The first thing in his mind was about blaming Scout for taking one of his sandviches, but upon seeing the boy, his anger slowly died... 

"L... Leetle man alright?" The shaved bear stepped forward, the younger man shaking with each sob. "...Scout?"

Scout finally took notice of someone else close by... and rather then pushing him away... He leap forward, his arms around the huge man's neck, burying his face into his shoulder. Heavy remained still, unsure how to respond...

"I just can't... I just can't take this anymore!" Scout clung tightly, "...help me... You gotta help me, man..."

Okay, he understood that part... "But... what do leetle man need help with?"

The boy sniffled, "The images... the nightmares..." His eyes closed shut, "They won't go away... they won't leave me alone!"

"Oh..." So THAT'S what had been bothering the Boston; nightmares, really bad ones from what it sounded like. The Scout was still shaking and sobbing silently, so Heavy gently wrapped his meat arms around him, trying to comfort him the best he could. The sobs had settled but he was still shivering.

"...Do leetle man need Doktor?" He felt the younger man nodding 'yes' against him, gripping onto him.

"Please, Heavy..." Scout whispered, tears down his face, "I'm scared... I'm really fucking scared..." He felt the other nod against him too...

"Very well..."


	5. Nightmares shown

Later, both the Boston and Russian were heading slowly down the hallway together to seek out Medic; Scout was having a bit of trouble walking so Heavy let him lean into his side for support, keeping a hand around him to keep him up. The boy kept silent, hoping he knew what he was doing... he had to tell someone sooner or later, and if the Medic could at least...

"PRIVATE!!!"

Scout jumped at the loud tone, already a panicked look on his face. Soldier, pissed off, never a good sign. Heavy also noticed the American storming down the hallway, seeming outraged from the previous incident. He clearly looked ready to explode.

"Soldier!" the large shaved bear quickly wrapped his meat arms around the younger man, as if trying to shield him from whatever the other man had planned.

Soldier didn't pay attention. In fact, he wasn't even fazed by Heavy's warning glare. Instead he shot a finger in the Scout's direction, as the boy tried to hide within the Russian's grasp.

"Damn it, boy! You've been causing us nothing but issues lately! And do you have any idea how that makes us look in front of the other team?! Obviously not! We've been distracted by all your pathetic excuses for battle!!"

Scout was trying to look away. He didn't want anymore hallucinations to deal with, not right now. " _No..._ " the image of Soldier, his mouth full of blood but loss of teeth, " _no...No...No..._ "

"Is enough!" frowned the larger of the men, "Is not Scout's fault. He is just very sick and we are just going to see Doktor."

"You think I'm that stupid!? Just how do we know the boy isn't turning traitor on us?!"

That word... That froze Scout in place, his face growing white... Traitor... Team killer... A single tear leaked its way down his cheek, as he frantically wished he could faint on the spot but was too shaken to even do so, "... _Please no_..." He shrank back in Heavy's arms, watching the helmet wearing American raising a hand, as if ready to strike.

"Nyet, Soldier!"

"And what have I told you-?!?"

The American was suddenly pulled away as the Texan man stepped in front, scowling. "What in Sam Hill, son?!"

"I am only-"

"Don't you at least think the boy has been through enough?" Engineer crossed his arms, "It was already bad enough yesterday, just give him a break, will you?"

Heavy and Scout waited for Soldier's response... if there was anyone to easily talk him out of things, it was normally the Engineer. And of course, the other man was a bit stubborn at times.

"...Engie, I get what you're saying but we don't know if it's serious or another one of his pranks." He pushed him aside, raising the hand, "Only I can make sure he'll never-"

The shaved bear's low growl wasn't enough to halt the man to his actions, nor was the shriek from the bunny who hid his face but Soldier was pulled away again, more violently, against the wall and came face to face with a frowning goggled face.

"SIR, THAT'S AN ORDER, **SIR!** "

Engineer normally was a nice man, but if pushed too far, he could be quite fierce. Soldier knew this too well also, frozen in place. Slowly, he nodded and merely just allowed Engineer to push him the opposite direction, leaving the two other men alone in the hallway again. Scout swallowed as Heavy lead the way to Medic's office. They reached his door, Heavy giving it a knock or two till the German peeked his head out.

"Ah, Heavy. Guten Abend."

"Doktor."

"Does the heart need an upgrade, or is...?" Medic turned his gaze to the younger teammate, still leaning into the giant's side. "Herr Scout... Heard you weren't feeling so well..."

"No, Doc..." Scout shook his head, "Not good at all..."

\--

Medic ushered them to the infirmary, closing the doors behind them. As Heavy helped Scout to sit on the examination table, the doctor asked, "Are there any symptoms I should know about first?"

The Boston lowered his head, holding a hand to it. "Just... a small case of amnesia from yesterday, and...Today, it was mostly being sick to the stomach..."

"Ah yes...” Medic had heard briefly about the amnesia case from Engineer. He took two small pills that would help ease the nausea, handing them to Scout who placed them in his mouth and also swallowed them with some water. The coolness helped to soothe the heat in his throat.

“Now, Herr Scout…” The German could see the signs of looking troubled and bothered. This didn't at all seem like the energetic young man everyone on the team was familiar with. "If something is wrong... You can tell us..."

Heavy looked up first to see if Scout needed to be spoken for but the younger man shook his head as he inhaled deeply... "Okay, I'll admit it, Doc... It's been...freaking crazy..." He rested his head in his hands, "It's been that freaking crazy, I can't understand it. Can't sleep, can't eat... can't even barely speak to anybody...without those...images showing up..."

"Images?" Medic raised an eyebrow.

Scout sighed, "Nightmares... really bad ones. I mean, it didn't seem a big deal at first but lately...they keep coming back, no matter what I'm doing. They even....they even keep getting more realistic..."

The Russian turned to his companion in war, "What do you think, Doktor?"

Medic was thinking deeply about what the younger man had said, tapping his chin... "One moment, bitte." He said as he turned away, seeming to search for something. "Nein... no, not you...ah, there you are." He turned back to show Heavy and Scout an odd looking machine; it was flat and shaped almost like an VCR and attached to it with wires looked like a headband with a tiny switch and had tiny labels around it.

"...What is...?"

Medic answered the shaved bear, "Was requested by our Demoman and also had a little assistance from Engineer." He then explained, "It is supposed to see into one's mind of whether it be memories or rather strange dreams of sorts. Can be very exciting as well."

Scout then felt a little uneasy with the given news, "D...Does that mean with that... you're gonna be seeing what I've been seeing? As in, the nightmares?"

"Vell, unless we know what's been bothering you, Herr Scout..."

The boy's head started shaking, "No... I don't think that..."

"It won't hurt, it's just going to..."

"No, not that! I just..." Scout's eyes cringed tightly, "I don't want anyone seeing what I have. What if they...?" His voice trembled, in fear. He felt Medic rest a hand on his shoulder, standing next to him.

"You came for my help...did you not?"

Scout let out a silent sob. Heavy almost objected, wanting to say the Boston had been accused enough about making things up till the doctor gently embraced the boy. Scout didn't move but allowed the Medic to hold him.

"I can't imagine what nightmares you've had, Herr Scout... but you have to let us see... so that we can help you..."

The younger man was silent... and slowly embraced back, "...Bitte."

"Ja..." Medic handed the headband to Scout, who placed it around his head as the doctor adjusted the little switch to what seemed to be Scout's class name. As the boy lay back, the German took out a small needle.

Heavy noticed, "Medic?"

"It's just a little something to help him sleep..." He turned Scout's head to one side, sticking it in his neck's blood vein. The younger man could feel his eyelids grow heavy... he glanced at Medic hooking up the machine to the screen.

" _Doc..._ "

Medic turned his head in reply to the hushed tone from Scout, "Yes?"

" _You guys...have to promise that... whatever you see won't change your opinion of me..._ "

The doctor nodded slowly, " _Natürlich..._ "

" _And that...the others, can't know about this..._ " His hand began grasping, and Heavy took it in his own large paw.

"...We do what leetle man asks..."

Scout gave a weak smile, "... _thanks, guys..._ " His eyes fell closed, into slumber. Heavy and Medic nodded to each other, turning to face the screen...

((The whole area was lit of fire. Men screamed, running here and there. One short certain man rushed through the red base, looking around; the Engineer. He noticed the red Pyro, trying to open a door as he ran over.  
"Stand back there, son." Engineer pushed aside Pyro, as he tried to open the door's code. And again. "We must've broke the thing..." That's when Pyro came running back, holding its flamethrower.  
"Whoooo!"  
"Whoa, watch out!"  
Both of them crashed through the door, tumbling till they stopped at what appeared to be a dead body...  
"Sorry, ma'am."  
"*mumble*..."  
"Hey."  
Both Engineer and the Firebug turned to the person standing behind them, holding a limp body over his shoulder.  
"Are we ready?"))

Looked like the Scout... his hair and eyes looked a little different here...

((Scout stepped over, giving the body a kick, "...Bitch got what she deserved..."  
"And that there's a fine piece of work."  
"Mhm..." The younger man turned to the Texan, "Say Engie, maybe you can help me get our teammates more comfortable." Then to the Firebug, "Mumbles?"  
"*mumble*?"  
"Why don't you play some 'Doctor' till we need you to join us?" With that said, he tossed the body he had been carrying atop of the woman's corpse, the Pyro giggling and clapping its hands.))

Medic paused, noticing... was that his body? Was that his dead corpse? The scenery changed to the team mates all chained up, minus Scout and Engineer. Pyro was out of the scenario.

(("L-laddy... you might want to be careful with that..." Demoman looked nervous, as the younger man toyed with a small spoon near his working eye... before digging it in completely causing the man to scream in pain, blood spurting out. Scout twisted and turned the spoon as the eyeball soon slipped out, hanging by a vein. The boy tugged on it and then pulled it out completely, dangling it in front of the now blind Scottish man.  
"Hey Demoman~ Got your eye on you~" 

"That there's just a sad display, boy..." Engineer was watching Soldier struggling viciously in his chains, yelling threats but it didn't effect either the Texan or younger man. Scout smirked slowly...  
"How about I let you take care of this one, amigo?"  
"Ya sure, son?"  
"Why not?" The boy shrugged, "He messed with your machines mostly, did he not?"  
Engineer thought for a moment... removed his glove to reveal his atomic hand...and began beating in the American's face violently, both knocking out his teeth and almost cutting his tongue completely in half. The second a spark came from the Gunslinger after breaking the Soldier's jaw, Scout quickly pulled him back.

Sniper grunted, withering in pain while the boy sliced a saw through one limb, the dismembered arm falling to the ground, forming a puddle of blood. He headed over to the other side, also cutting off the other arm but stopped halfway, letting it hang by a thread. Scout took a hold of it, "Snipey~"  
"...Ugh..."  
"THINK FAST!"  
With this said, he tore it off causing the Aussie to scream as it ripped off most of his skin. Sniper babbled, drooling at the mouth before he passed out, his eyes rolling back...))

"Oh my god..." Even Heavy couldn't believe what he was seeing...

(("And as for you..." Scout turned slowly, grinning at the naked sight of the Frenchman, who struggled against the table he was chained to and snarling all the while.  
"You...wouldn't dare!"  
"You deserve something rather special then what the others had..." His hand stroked the side of Spy's face, with a smug face, "...espía..."  
Spy shook his head away from the boy's touch, "You are an embarrassment to us all! Not to mention sick!"  
Scout stepped away, seeming shocked...and his head lowered...  
"Now...if you would kindly-" Spy had no way to avoid the sudden sock to his face from the boy, who now looked enraged.  
"EVERYTHING'S ALWAYS GOT TO BE ABOUT YOU, DOESN'T IT, IDIOTA?! You always do the same thing when anything bad happens to your team mates! 'Oh my team mate is dead, but I got to get back to work'. Are you even aware of what happen to your so-called girlfriend's son!? I didn't even have to lift a finger to finish off that little bastardo. He did it to himself. Isn't that great?? He saved me a lot of trouble when destroying the BLU's Team!"))

The German and Russian could hear little noises from the younger man behind them, squirming on the table, whispering 'no' repeatedly. His face seemed red... Turning back to the screen, they saw why...

(("You didn't give me a chance, guapo..." Spy, now looked bruised and sweating, tried to scowl up at Scout towering above him. "I wanted to take it easy on you... but it seems you have to be punished the hard way..."  
Spy spit up a bit of blood... "You...disgust...m-me..."  
Scout leaned in, with a dangerous look. One that even scared the Frenchman.  
"Sc-Scout- AAAAUGH!! SCOUT, NO! Stop! PLEASE STOP! Se IL VOUS PLAÎT!!"))

Heavy grimaced as Medic placed both hands on his mouth, but there was still more horrific scenario to come. Next came up the images of the team mates being burnt alive, howls of pain and sorrow. 

((Scout and Engineer were watching, along with Pyro who giggled from blazing them... until it suddenly caught fire as well, despite its fire proof suit. It choked and sputtered, seeping drool from its mask... then lying still...

"Aw, hell..." Engineer frowned, as Scout examined the Firebug; definitely dead...just like the others... "Well...now what, boy? We've got everyone, right?"  
"...Not everyone, amigo..."  
"What?..." The Texan then turned pale as the younger man faced him... knife in hand... "B-boy... now, now..." But the boy began advancing, grinning manically and raising the knife. Both he and Engineer struggled back and forth till Scout's hand brought it down into the others' forehead, seeping out blood from both the head and the mouth of the shorter man. Engineer slowly collapsed. Scout stood there for a moment till he knelt down to get to work sawing off the Gunslinger and examining all over...could make a very useful weapon.  
A cracking sound... then another... funny, he thought he got all the men in both bases... did he miss someone? His attention turned to the wall behind him... it was starting to give way, as a large hand punched through, looking all black and smokey... Becoming terrified, Scout ran for the window, trying to climb up to it as fast as he could. The mystery shaved bear came roaring behind him, trying to grab the younger man till he whacked the unknown giant with the Gunslinger, stalling him long enough to squirm through the window and fall out onto the sandy ground... he laughed for a second, feeling relief looking to his right... he did it... he slowly sat up till he felt a presence on his left...  
"Found you.")) 

Heavy and Medic cringed, watching the unknown HWG began to destroy the younger man who screamed nonstop. It sounded so realistic...almost as if it was in the room with them. Then it hit them, turning back to Scout, now screaming at the top of his lungs. His body jerked back and forth almost as in a seizure. Heavy backed away as Medic grabbed the younger man's shoulders, while the Boston howled loudly.

"Herr Scout! SCOUT! Stop! Wake up, Scout! Scout, stop!"

But the younger man seemed trapped, continuing to jerk around wildly and crying out till his voice hurt. Heavy could only stand by watching weakly, looking back and forth from the Medic and Scout to the images on screen... What if that was him? Would he really hurt the boy?

Scout jerked upward into sitting position, the Medic still holding onto him. "Herr Scout, herr Scout!" The boy looked around panicked till looking back at the German...but not seeming to actually see him... his hands flew to his throat in a panic, trying to pry off non existent hands due to the image showing 'him' being strangled. He was choking for needed air.

"No, no, not of that. Not of that...!" Medic tried to get the younger man to cope with him, "Just breathe in slowly...then out...In and out..."

The boy let out another pain filled wail.

"James, bitte!"

This was getting out of hand and unless something was done soon... Medic quickly tore off the headband, the screen going black. Scout finally snapped out of his crazed haze, taking sharp looks here and there... His gaze fell on Medic, this time seeing him...

"Oh god..."

"We've got you, Kamerad...we got you..."

"D-Doc... I..."

The German held the boy close, trying to soothe his nerves. He was clearly shaken badly. "Shh... It's okay..."

"But..." Scout sniffled, "...Th-that part... that's never happened before..."

"It's alright..." Medic rubbed his back, "We didn't know...had no idea..."

Scout let out a shaken sigh, "...No one does..."

When the boy had stopped shaking, Medic stepped away as Heavy slowly stood next to him. "Well, it can't possibly be ze diet; sometimes strange dreams come from what's eaten... Either way, do you remember when they first started?"

Scout tried to recall, "Well... you guys remember the whole giant monster bread incident?"

They nodded in reply.

"They started around after that happened. They didn't seem a big deal at the time but, since then, they've gotten more and more messed up..."

"Was there anything else?"

The Boston thought for a moment, "Well there was that one time, a day after the whole bread fiasco, when running into the other team's Scout; the dude whose mom Spy slept with. We were only chatting about how we did on our jobs and such till he brought up that someone used to have my job...and things went out of control with him..."

Both older men looked to each other in concern...

"...said his name was... Richard, or something?"

This seemed to alarm both the men, Scout could see that but not why. They both turned away from him, speaking in hushed tones with each other... before turning back to him...

"...Perhaps we should keep you off the battle field till we can figure this out..."

"...You sure, doc?"

"We can always mention you just have 'sleeping sickness', but you have been forcing yourself to do your job despite your nightmare condition." Medic wasn't one to be argued with, not to mention Scout was feeling pretty tired to say otherwise. He agreed silently and as Medic started to put things away, Heavy offered to carry the Boston to his room, and he allowed him to do so.

\--

Gently tucking him into his bed, Heavy watched the Scout yawned, nuzzling into the bed sheets. The Russian giant smiled weakly, about to turn away to leave...

"...Can you stay?"

He turned in surprise of the younger man's silent request. Even after what had happened...what had been seen...

"Tiny Scout is sure he want Heavy to stay?"

Scout reached out a hand to grasp the large man's wrist, "I don't... want to be alone tonight..."

Heavy thought... before pulling up a chair and sitting near Scout's bed, the younger man giving a small smile. Seemed it didn't matter if that was the Red Heavy or not, Scout just wanted to feel safe. He only silently watched the younger man give out another yawn, rolling on one side, falling into sleep...


End file.
